Historic Buildings of Connecticut - Exploring the Nutmeg State One Building at a Time

Winsted Y.M.C.A. (1916)

The Y.M.C.A. branch in Winsted was first organized in 1887. The opening of the Y.M.C.A. building at 480 Main Street in Winstead was described in the Hartford Courant newspaper on September 3, 1916:

After being two years without the use of a building when the old fashioned dwelling house used for a quarter of a century had outlived its usefulness, the Winsted Young Men’s Christian Association Monday will, open for public inspection the beautiful new structure made possible by the gift of $30,000 in the will of the late Rufus E. Holmes, and a fund of approximately $50,000 raised in a whirlwind campaign among Winsted citizens. […]
The new building is of gray tapestry brick with artificial stone trimmings, of Colonial design, and represents an outlay of $75,000. It Is three stories high, and in appointments is second to none in the state for a town the size of Winchester. The lobby and office are located so that supervision is at all times assured, and is within easy reach of members. The boys and men’s social rooms are apart. The men’s room is fitted with one billiard and three pool tables, and the boys have two tables in their section. The reading rooms are well located and are well supplied with attractive reading materials.
The gymnasium is in reality a separate building, closely connected to the swimming pool. It Is 62 by 48 feet, with a gallery for spectators, and is equipped with the latest Narragansett Machine Company‘s apparatus. The swimming pool Is a little larger than the standard size and will prove one of the greatest attractions in the building, filling a long felt want in the town. […]
Three regulation bowling alleys furnished by the Brunswick-Collendar-Balke Company have been installed in the basement, and a better bowling room is not to be found in this section of the state. The dormitories are located on the third floor, and are sixteen in number, many of than having been engaged before work was started in the construction of the building.
On the second floor is the kitchen and serving room with gas range, china, linen and silverware belonging to the Women’s Auxiliary of the Y.M.C.A. and adjoining is a ladles’ rest room, parlor, lavatory and toilet. On the same floor is the assembly room which may be subdivided into three classrooms by folding doors, and may be used as a banquet room and for entertainments. A moving picture booth has been provided and an up to date machine bought. […]
Plans for the new building were provided by Louis E. Jallade of New York and the construction was under the personal supervision of Morris J. Sullivan of his office. The general contract was awarded to Frank W. Fuller of Torrington, and the superintendent was Frank H. Maher of Winsted, who died while the building was nearing completion. The Hutton Brothers Company of Winsted had the plumbing contract and the E. A. Perkins Company of Torrington did the electrical work.

As mentioned in the article, the gymnasium was in a separate attached building. It was later moved across the street and became the Manchester Feed Mill, but was lost in the 1955 flood.

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First Congregational Church, Portland (1850)

First Congregational Church, 554 Main Street, Portland, CT

The origins of the First Congregational Church of Portland go back to 1714 when it known as the Third Society of Middletown, later called Chatham. The areas that are now the town of Portland and East Hampton were incorporated in 1767 as the Town of Chatham. Portland separated from Chatham to become the Town of Portland in 1841. The Society had two earlier church buildings before the current one. As related in the 1884 History of Middlesex County:

At the annual meeting in 1845, difference of opinion prevailed as to the location of the prospective new church, and accordingly a committee, consisting of Deacon Job H. Payne, Philip H. Sellew, and Ebenezer B. White, were appointed to select two or more judicious and disinterested persons as an advisory committee, to consult together and report. The next year, by a vote of nine to fifteen, it was determined to place the new edifice on the old site, but it was decided by the moderator (one of the deacons of the church) to be no vote. At a meeting soon after it was voted thirteen to seven to build on “Meeting House Hill.” This was likewise decided by the same moderator to be no vote. It is presumable that the foregoing decisions were reached by the moderator, in view of the smallness of the number present, the general want of enthusiasm, and possible lack of requisite pledges. Three years elapsed, when, November 6th 1849, it was voted twenty-six to nine, three not voting, that the meeting house should be erected on the lot owned by John I. Worthington, situated between the dwelling houses of Harlord H. Caswell, and George H. Pettis, and William H. Bartlett, Ebenezer B. White, Henry E. Sage, Philip H. Sellew, and Reuben Paynewere appointed a building committee. The present church edifice was built in 1850, and on the 18th of December of the same year was dedicated. It is of Gothic structure, 70 by 39 feet. The building cost $6,200; the site, bell, furniture, and other accommodations, $1,450; total, $7,650.

George H. Stone & Co. (1850)

One of the historic buildings at Mystic Seaport represents a nineteenth-century general store called George H. Stone & Co. The objects on exhibit were donated by George H. Stone, a retired merchant from North Stonington who had his own collection of historical items. The building itself was originally erected circa 1850 as a house in Pawcatuck. It was acquired by the museum in 1954.

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New Video: Main Street in Hartford Before the Gold Building

The stretch of Main Street in Hartford, Connecticut that’s now occupied by the Gold Building is very historic. It was once the site of landmarks that included the 1780s home where prominent businessman and philanthropist James B. Hosmer lived from the age of two until he died two days before his 97th birthday, the building that was occupied from 1828 to 1964 by the city’s second oldest continuously operating business, the Sisson Drug Company, the building where the Young Men’s Institute (forerunner of the Hartford Public Library) had its first permanent home and stage where Mark Twain made his acting debut in 1876.

Upcoming Virtual Talk: “Serving Up History: When Hartford Was a Retail Hub”

Hosted by the Webb Deane Stevens Museum. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 AT 12:30 PM.

When Hartford Was a Retail Hub: the Growth of the City’s Great Department Stores (1890s – 1960s)

Hartford was once a thriving center for retail, with several large department stores, including the legendary G. Fox & Co. Daniel will talk about the development of the city’s major department stores, comparing the different ways they grew from small dry goods outlets into multi-department retail complexes. Stores to be discussed include Brown-Thomson, Sage-Allen, Wise-Smith and, of course, G. Fox – which became the nation’s largest privately-owned department store. The discussion is free on Zoom. Registration is required.

Samuel Fielding House (1750)

The gambrel-roofed colonial cape-style house at 25 Marjorie Circle in Hebron was built c. 1745-1750 by Samuel Feilding. Soon after construction it was owned by Rev. Benjamin Pomeroy (1735-1784), a congregational minister who was influenced by the First Great Awakening. In 1791 the house was acquired by Amasa Gillett, whose widow later married Benjamin Phelps (the house was later called the Widow Polly Phelps Place). Gillett’s daughter Sibyl, who lived in the house until her death at the age of 95, made bonnets and had her shop in the house in the 1850s. Earlier, in 1835 the largest room in the house was used for Miss Bradford’s school for select young ladies. There is also a gambrel-roofed barn on the property.

New Video: A Lost Section of Main Street, Hartford CT

What used to be on Main Street between Center Church and the Gold Building? In this video I talk about a 1771 schoolhouse, the original 1764 home of the Hartford Courant, the Kellogg Brothers lithographers who rivaled Currier and Ives, Augustus Washington, who was a successful African-American daguerreotypist, John Porter, who founded one of New England’s first lunchroom chains, and more!